Come on Liam...

...tell us how you really feel.

complaints

I was going to write this great post where I whined and complained about how life is hard and I'm so picked-on. I was going to tell you about how I got sick the day James left for New York City

and so did Liam

and Eliza

and Laney.

I was going to tell you all about how I had to sit in the ER with Liam so he could have his blood drawn (the lab in our Dr's office was closed) and they made me wait for SIX HOURS with a sick baby and a sick mommy and it was not fun. At all.

I had so much to tell you.

And you would have loved it.

You may have even cried.

But then I met a man with no feet (figuratively speaking) and so now all my really big problems (I'm telling you, they were HUGE) don't seem blog-worthy. Or even complain worthy.

Instead, I feel the need to quote the song by Jason Mraz that goes like this:

La la la la la la la life is wonderful.

And here's why...

James came home and brought us all Tshirts.

Oh how we love Daddy (and NY).

The kids are better.

And the weather is nice enough to play outside!

We made a haunted house.

Liam helped in his own special way

James bought me these beauties.

Last but not least, it's almost Halloween!

Do you love my beautiful princesses?

How about my fat lion?

I had to include this picture of our friends because their costumes are so awesome.

Please notice the mini lumberjack in the wolf's arms. He is holding a hatchet.

So there you have it. My life is not hard.

In fact it's really quite wonderful.

I am glad last week is over though. Sick wonderful is not near as fun as well wonderful.

Happy Halloween!

I keep thinking that the next time I blog it's going to be about something really exciting. But then I remember that we are in the middle of James' fifth(ish) semester of law school, living in the midwest and our lives revolve around things like how much Liam weighs and whether or not we will play at the indoor playground or the outdoor playground.

So instead I'm going to show you a picture of these fish...

And tell you about how we went for a walk today in a beautiful place called "Lake of the Woods". With us we took bread and cheerios to feed the extremely large goldfish

and the camera because I wanted to take some pictures of the fall leaves

Unfortunately there weren't as many colors as I would have liked, but that pink bush sure is nice.

So instead I took a picture of myself because I don't get near enough camera time

And my family because they are as beautiful as any fall leaves would have been.

But they weren't so much in the mood to pose, so I'll instead show you some pictures I took a few days ago.

This one is of Laney and Liam reading together. I included this particular picture to show you my twenty-two pound children. That's right, they weigh the same.

Then there's this one. Liam got a new outfit for church. One little girl told me he looked "swanky". I couldn't agree more.

And now we must go to bed. Goodnight.

Let's Play a Game

Can you guess which one is liam?

And you thought we were crazy!

This is me and my friend Kristin.

We drove across the country with these...

And we made it home alive. But not just alive, alive and well!

No flat tire, no accidents, no pulling hair out and no crying (by the moms anyway).

Plenty of fruit snacks, Mickey Mouse, goldfish, nursery rhyme songs and climbing over car seats to hand out snacks/drinks/change movies.

It was actually a lot of fun!

As you saw in one of my previous posts, my parents were just a little bit happy to see us.

And we were very happy to see them.

And now I am happy to show you what every person must do when they visit Grandpa and Grandma Dot.

First, you must wear "cowboy" hats.

It's not that hard to do because any hat with a brim counts

You must eat pancakes (preferably shaped like Mickey Mouse)

You absolutely must ride on the tire swing. Multiple times. Everyday.

Take some time to cuddle with Grandma

and take a nap with grandpa.

(or at least hang out with grandpa while he naps)

Then you have to ride this horse.

And this horse.

And don't forget to watch the Green Show.

Other activities not pictured include picking squash, feeding Spiffy and playing with barbie.

There's nothing like going to Grandma's.

You should go sometime.

They just love surprises!

Progression

Guess where we are?

Have I ever told you how much I love surprises?

And apparently so does my mom.

And my dad...

It was definitely worth the 20 hour drive.

This is a sneak peak of what's to come...

In case I ever get around to blogging about our summer vacation, I thought I would post this picture as a teaser. I bet you can't wait to see more! I know I can't wait to show you.

While the rest of you were sleeping...

This is what it's like with Laney when she is up in the middle of the night. Cute? Yes. But it would be much cuter if she did it at 1:00 p.m. instead of a.m.

I have translated at the bottom for those of you who haven't brushed up on Laney Talk lately.



(My spoken parts have been left out because I speak clearly)

"cuz the lions sad
cuz he wants to go home with the mommy and baby
cuz I pet lion and babies back
I ride on the lion
You ride on the lion too?
You not afraid
I not afraid
Yeah, I the mommy
Something that goes in the lions mouth
yeah
the lion bites
because he brave
you
yeah
yeah
I not brave
no
because I the mommy
yeah
that's the daddy and that's the mommy."

One day I'm going to look back on this and miss it.
But probably not in the near future because I am really tired.
And now I'm going to bed. Goodnight.

"Oh man, please don't tell dad!"

I'm sure that's what Liam was thinking when I took this picture

And that has nothing to do with the rest of this post.
Last weekend we went to Nauvoo. It was great. We went to the Nauvoo Pageant and thought it was amazing.

This was from the final scene in the pageant.

Because the pageant ends so late, we decided to rent a house for the night
with a couple or our other friends. The above picture was our view from the front porch.

Laney showing her true pioneer spirit.

Eliza helping her friend, Audrey, tie her bonnet while
her twin brother Austin plays with blocks. When Laney talks to these twins they
are either both Austin or both Audrey.

The Nauvoo Temple.

Our happy family.
The night before we had gotten about 6 hours of sleep
so this was one of the rare moments where we all looked it

Laney inspecting the flowers

For those of you who don't know much about Mormon history (or if you do and still want to hear more), I found this summary of some of the events that led to the Saints leaving Nauvoo that I'm going to put at the end of this post. I'll warn you, it's kind of long, but I feel like it's worth reading. Going to the place where thousands of people built a home, a temple, and a life and then were forced to leave it in the middle of winter is very humbling.

" Location:
Nauvoo, Illinois: 1839-1846

As the Latter-day Saints fled Missouri during the winter of 1838–1839, having been threatened by the governor of that state with extermination, they crossed into Illinois and settled in a swampy area along the Mississippi River that they named Nauvoo. Over the next few years, an estimated 16,000 Latter-day Saints took up residence in the city and its surrounding communities. It became one of the largest cities in Illinois at the time and an important commercial center on the upper Mississippi.

Many in the surrounding communities continued to harass the Latter-day Saints, and on 27 June 1844, a painted mob shot to death the Latter-day prophet, Joseph Smith, and his brother Hyrum. Despite the rapidly escalating tension in the area, the Latter-day Saints continued at great sacrifice to complete a temple in the city, even while they prepared for a mass exodus to the West. Between February and September 1846, most of the Latter-day Saints took up their march to the West, leaving their homes, their city, and their temple to the hands of those who had not built and the hearts of those who did not care.

Today Nauvoo is a significant historic district, with many of the buildings in the original townsite rebuilt or restored and open for the public to visit.

Cities Abandoned

In all of United States history, few people have suffered for their religious convictions as did the early Latter-day Saints. Because of the rapid growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and what many contemporary religionists viewed as the heretical doctrine of living prophets and modern revelation, many outsiders viewed Latter-day Saints with suspicion and contempt. During the first two decades of the Church's existence, Latter-day Saints repeatedly experienced the cycle of migration, settlement (including purchasing the lands they settled in), and expulsion. Within the span of 17 years, the fast-growing body of Latter-day Saints moved en masse from the Finger Lakes region of western New York state (1830-1831), to Kirtland, Ohio (1831-1838), Jackson County, Missouri (1831-1839) and Commerce/Nauvoo, Illinois (1839-1848), where their prophet, Joseph Smith, was murdered by a mob. In the dead of winter 1846, the Latter-day Saints once again abandoned their homes and began the long, hard trek to the Rocky Mountains, where they would at last find welcome refuge.

Extermination Order

Following eight years of convergence and settlement by thousands of Latter-day Saint converts in northern Missouri, tensions with neighboring communities reached a climax. On 27 October 1838, Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs signed one of the most heinous documents in American history, his Mormon "extermination order," declaring, "The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated, or driven from the State, if necessary for the public peace" (quoted in History of the Church, 3:175). This military directive called for the forced mid-winter exodus from Missouri of approximately 10,000 men, women and children from their own farms, homes, and lands.

On 25 June 1976, Missouri Governor Christopher S. Bond issued an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order, noting its legal invalidity and formally apologizing in behalf of the state of Missouri for the suffering it had caused the Latter-day Saints.

Nauvoo, Illinois: From Ecstasy to Exodus

In all of Church history, perhaps nothing symbolizes the pragmatic nature of Latter-day Saint religion as does the city of Nauvoo. On the very hem of the western frontier, the Latter-day Saints drained the swamps, wrote an ambitious city charter, established a university, mounted a city militia, and built a temple.

To Nauvoo and its vicinity came the great majority of all Latter-day Saint converts for the next seven years, swelling the population to about 20,000 by 1846. At its height it rivaled Chicago as the largest city in the state. A vibrant, culturally eclectic place, it came to be known as "Nauvoo, the Beautiful."

Death of Joseph Smith

The relative peace and prosperity of the Nauvoo period was short-lived. Political maneuvering for the "Mormon vote" at the state level had granted the municipality perhaps the most liberal city charter in the state, and Nauvoo was seen as both a political and economic threat by many in the older, neighboring communities. At the height of tensions, a local opposition newspaper called for mob action against the Saints, to which the city council responded by destroying the offending printing press. Amidst growing regional clamor for, once again, the Saints' extermination, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were jailed. On 27 June 1844, a mob stormed Carthage jail and shot the brothers to death in their prison cell.

The American Exodus

Following the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, ire against the Saints rose rapidly. In 1845, the repeal of the Nauvoo City charter, which among other things granted the Latter-day Saints the right to keep a standing militia for their own protection, signaled the effective end of their sojourn in Illinois. These events, however, merely catalyzed a move contemplated by Church leaders for a number of years. As early as 1840 Joseph Smith had taught there was "a place of safety preparing for [the Saints] away towards the Rocky Mountains" (quoted in Ronald K. Esplin, "'A Place Prepared': Joseph, Brigham and the Quest for Promised Refuge in the West," Journal of Mormon History vol.9 [1982], 90). By the fall of 1845, preparations for the exodus were well under way; the proposed departure date would be, in the words of Brigham Young, "as soon as the grass grows" (quoted in Wallace Stegner, The Gathering of Zion: The Story of the Mormon Trail, [1964], 38) in the following spring. But the mobs wouldn't rest. On 4 February 1846, in the heart of a Midwestern winter so cold and bitter the Mississippi River froze over, the Latter-day Saints were driven from their homes and lands down a street which came to be known as the "Street of Tears" and into the unknown mystery of the western frontier.

Religious Freedom

Although the body of Latter-day Saints grew rapidly, swelling the population of a number of frontier communities, the Saints were no theocratic usurpers: "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may" (Articles of Faith 1:11). But as they gathered converts, they gathered enemies, leaving themselves, ultimately, no choice but departure. In a letter addressed to U.S. President James K. Polk in 1846, Brigham Young gave notice of the farewell:

"We would esteem a territorial government of our own as one of the richest boons of earth, and while we appreciate the Constitution of the United States as the most precious among the nations, we feel that we had rather retreat to the deserts, islands or mountain caves than consent to be ruled by governors and judges whose hands are drenched in the blood of innocence and virtue, who delight in injustice and oppression." Thus, they walked (quoted in B.H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church, 3:89-90).

Value of the Exodus

"For Brigham Young and his associates, the 1846 exodus from Nauvoo, far from being a disaster imposed by enemies, was foretold and foreordained—a key to understanding LDS history and a necessary prelude for greater things to come. From a later perspective too, scholars of the Mormon experience have come to see the exodus and colonization of the Great Basin as the single most important influence in molding the Latter-day Saints into a distinctive people" (Reed C. Durham Jr., "Westward Migration, Planning and Prophecy," in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. [1992], 4:1563).

Mississippi River Crossing

From February through September of 1846, thousands of Latter-day Saints abandoned Nauvoo, fleeing to the West in barges and ferries across the Mississippi River. Some of those who crossed in late February did so on ice, as the wide river froze solid in sub-zero temperatures. A number of diarists refer to the freezing as a miracle, even though, notes one commentator, "it was a miracle that nearly froze a couple of thousand Saints" (Wallace Stegner, The Gathering of Zion, 44). The majority, some 7,000 or more, left between March and May. By September only six or seven hundred remained in Nauvoo. Known as the "poor Saints," they were either physically or financially incapable of traveling west by themselves to join the main body of the Saints now near the western edge of Iowa. Mobs forced this last group from the city in mid-September, 1846, in what came to be known as "the battle of Nauvoo."

Iowa: Bitter Beginning

Of the entire trek to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, it was the first 300 miles across Iowa that most tried the stamina and courage of the Latter-day Saint pioneers. Mere weeks into the journey—through sleet, blizzard, and mud—it became apparent to Brigham Young that his people would never reach the Rocky Mountains in the time or in the manner that most had hoped for. So throughout the spring of 1846, thousands of refugees trudged across the windswept Iowa prairies, preparing the way for those yet to come: building bridges, erecting cabins, planting and fencing crops. By mid-June, nearly 12,000 Saints were still scattered across Iowa. The Rocky Mountain entry would be postponed.



Joseph Smith

"The place was literally a wilderness. The land was mostly covered with trees and bushes, and much of it was so wet that it was with the utmost difficulty that a footman could get through, and totally impossible for teams. Commerce was unhealthy, very few could live there; but believing that it might become a healthy place by the blessing of heaven to the saints, and no more eligible place presenting itself, I considered it wisdom to make an attempt to build up a city" (Joseph Smith quoted in B.H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church, 2:9).

Brigham Young

1846

In a letter addressed to U.S. President James K. Polk, Brigham Young gave notice of the Latter-day Saints' farewell:

"We would esteem a territorial government of our own as one of the richest boons of earth, and while we appreciate the Constitution of the United States as the most precious among the nations, we feel that we had rather retreat to the deserts, islands or mountain caves than consent to be ruled by governors and judges whose hands are drenched in the blood of innocence and virtue, who delight in injustice and oppression" (B.H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church, 3:89–90.)

When I grow up

When I was a kid I had all sorts of elaborate dreams for when I was older and usually they had to do with my house. They were things like an indoor trampoline, a room dedicated to all the animals I was going to own and a home movie theater (funny how that one is a reality for many people now).

Now that I am almost grown up (grown up status doesn't officially begin until James graduates), I still think things like that and this past weekend I have a new one:

When I grow up I'm going to own my own campground


We have some good friends that we know from the law school who recently invited us and some other friends to go camping. Greg, one of the friends, grew up on a farm just west of Chicago and in the middle of one of their corn fields they have a huge grove of trees with a large field in the center. It is perfect.
Greg and Katie did everything. They bought the food and prepared the food and helped us unload and made the fire and brought the games. Greg's parents and sister came up also and we couldn't have asked for better company. They are the best kind of people.

On the way to the field there are many different paths you could take and a few of them have their own small fields someone could camp in. The paths also serve as great trails for small children to run through while enjoying a nature walk.

So...

Big fields, lots of friends

a campfire to sit around

some excellent music

And a refreshing dip in the pool (although the pool was actually located at Greg's parents house about five minutes away)

(And it wasn't exactly refreshing because it was only 70 degrees outside and cloudy but still very fun)(for most of us anyway, Liam didn't like it very much)

Who could ask for more? Not me. I want that. Or at least one just like it.

I'll also take Liam in his new Sunday Best just to sweeten the deal. (No, he didn't wear this camping. I just wanted to include this picture because he is so darn cute!)

Broken and Chubby

(Okay, I confess, this is not actually the leg that is broken, but this one looked a lot worse so I used it for dramatic effect)

So it was official about a week ago, the leg is broken.

When James was first taken to the hospital he kept telling them that his left leg felt broken (Sadly, this is not his first) but the X rays didn't show anything so the doctor finally just sent us home with crutches.

After visiting his family in New York, James' mom recommended he get an MRI to check the leg one more time. We did that and found that he did have a broken leg (whoops) and also a torn Meniscus.




So now he hops around on his "robot leg", as Laney calls it, and will for the next few weeks. In the last appointment he had, the doctor said he might be able to ditch the crutches in tw0 weeks, but the brace will be on for about ten.

So here is the final injury line-up: 4 stiches, broken nose, broken toe, broken left leg, torn meniscus, sprained ankle, and a very bruised right leg. Not too bad for his first scooter accident.

And because he won't be riding a scooter anymore, it will be his last.


In other news, you can all breathe easy, Liam is still growing


And at this rate he will be bigger than Laney on Tuesday. We are realizing more and more how lucky we are that he is so big and she is so small. For example, the other day I heard her say "look mommy". When I did, she was sitting on his belly and squeezing his cheeks (her new favorite way to pass the time). However, thanks to her size and his, he didn't even flinch. In fact I think he enjoys her as much as she does him.


And why wouldn't he?

Sweet dreams are made of these

The other night I dreamed a dream. 

And in this dream there was a good friend from high school and the boy she dated. 

(In the dream the boy had a crush on me, poor girl, but that is beside the point)

At the end of the dream I was talking to the girl when the boy came in. 

He was tall.

He was dark.

He was handsome.

And as he got closer he opened up his mouth and began to say...

(Well not exactly say, he more made sounds like...)

Grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble.

He went on like this for about 2 minutes.

And then I woke up.

And found that instead of the boy in my dreams grumbling,

It was the boy OF my dreams.

(Not James.  Liam.)

Isn't that funny?

 

RIP Scooty

Last week, shortly after James left for work I got a phone call.

"Hello Monica, my name is Andrew. Your husband asked me to call you and let you know he's been in an accident. He told me to tell you he's okay."

And that's when I heard the sirens.

When James and I moved here, we debated what to do to get him to and from school everyday. We couldn't afford another car (or the parking pass), we lived too far away for him to bike everyday and the bus system here isn't that great so we did what we thought was the perfect thing: We bought him a scooter.

We knew that scooters were less safe than cars and that there was always the chance that someone wouldn't see him and he could get in an accident, but I don't think either of us thought it would really happen.

But it did.

Now James is using crutches to get around, trying not to bump his broken nose when he is kissing our girls, and biting his tongue when I step on his broken toe (again. Sorry honey).

But he's alive. And has a toe to step on, a nose to kis and legs to walk on. We still don't know what is wrong with his knees so he is getting an MRI right now. But he's alive.
And I think we are going to get a new car.

So In Love

James has a good friend from his home town who moved here not long ago. Chad doesn't have kids and so his life is a bit different from ours. The other day he was over and while we were all talking, he grabbed our camera and started taking pictures. I think he found us slightly amusing. The above picture is just one that he took. I like it because it's so true to life. Here are a few more that we have taken lately.

My first Liam kiss.

Liam in his tie shirt our friend made him. He's such a little man.

Fatty

We weighed him today on a friends scale. 14 lbs.
Tomorrow it will be official because he goes to the Dr.
At 2 months, Laney was 8lbs 7oz and Eliza was 11lbs 13oz.
At this rate he'll be bigger than Laney in a few more months.


It's probably a good thing too.

In other news, Laney decided to get into the punk look and die her hair pink. It's kind of hard to see in the picture, but she has nice pink highlights in the front of her hair, compliments of some Crystal Light that spilled in her bed while she was sleeping.

We have washed her hair and it has lightened up a lot, but I have too admit, I kind of like it and will be a little bit sad to see her hair back to normal.




We also got hair cuts (I actually cut Laney's a week ago, but our friend Shelly was kind enough to make it a little more even). I got my haircut as well but nobody wanted to take my picture.

And now we're done.

Unless you want to hear about how we're not going to Utah anymore in July (boo!) because James got a summer job (yay!). So we will be less poor, do less driving, spend less money, see less people and have way less fun.

But we do get to go visit Nicole after she moves to Ohio!

Okay, that's all now.

Two

Oh

How

I

Love

This
Big

Little

Girl!

Today when Laney woke up and James went to get her out of her crib he said to her "Laney, guess what today is?" Eliza rolled over in her bed and said "Laney, it's your birthday!" And Laney said

No! It's not my birthday Eliza!

Eventually she gave in and even let us sing happy birthday to her (although I did have to help Liam sing to her first to get her in the mood). She is so head strong, so smart, so funny and I can't wait to see what the rest of her life brings. Happy Birthday Laney!


(Just as a side note, please don't judge me too harshly now that you have seen Laney's "cake". I was going to make another one. Really I was. But then I realized that Laney doesn't care yet and Little Debbie makes such a good brownie and it even has sprinkles on it!)

Four

When Eliza was born I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Don't get me wrong, if you would have asked me back then if I knew how to raise children I would have told you very humbly "Oh no, but I have worked with children for several years and I have nieces..." and in my mind I would have been saying "parenting is easy. You just have to be consistent. And only feed them healthy things. And never yell. And Bathe them twice a day. And put cute little hair bows in their hair. And teach them to read when they are two. And..."

Then I had a child.

Eliza is my first. She was my first baby to smile, laugh, sit, crawl, walk, talk, spit, hug, kiss, jump and sing.

She is also my first to ever cry, throw mud, eat dirt, wear my clothes, drink toilet water, hide in the dryer, spray me with a hose, paint her sister, and pick her nose.

If you were to ask me now if I know how to raise children I would very proudly say "absolutely not." But I know how to try and I even know how to occasionally succeed. But mostly I know how to love my children, and in the end that matters most to me.

Happy Birthday Eliza! You are a beautiful ballerina and the first baby I ever loved so much!

Daddy's in charge: Part Deux

Much like the other day, I came out of the shower today to find James in his usual daddy-in-charge position. What I wasn't expecting to find was Eliza holding our miniature hymn book and singing hymns with Laney (although this is totally normal behavior for my children) (you know, no fighting, no back-talking, no whining and definitely no movie watching. Just hymns, prayers, and hugs at our house. We're what you call "the perfect family") (and my house is clean too) (and I never wear pajamas in the daytime).

So my question is this:

Why can my husband sleep anywhere, anytime, in basically any position while I have to have quiet-with just a bit of white noise, a pillow, blanket and my kids distracted by either sleep or at least a movie?

From now on we have a new rule at our house. When mommy and daddy both want a nap Sunday afternoon and the kids don't, mommy gets the nap and daddy is in charge. Win-win situation, don't you think?

PS
Notice how James wakes up in the middle of the song and before the video ends he's asleep again. I rest my case.

Some things for you to think about...

I came out of the shower and found this.
It's always WAY more fun when daddy's in charge.

Strawberries are on sale so I decided to make some Strawberry Jam.
But I've decided to name it Sugar Jam because there is an absurd amount of sugar in there.
Yum.

Liam has a twin cousin named Grant. Liam is 2 (3?) hours older.
I don't think they are identical but we won't know for sure until we get the DNA test back.

I wouldn't suggest putting a pillow in the washer and/or dryer.

2 dollars for gently used ballet clothes = hours of fun
(and a nice break for mommy)

Liam learned to smile (and as you can see, it's contagious)

He's a lady's man

Am I breaking some kind of social rule if I tell you that I think I make some cute babies? Okay fine, instead I'll tell you what an amazing photographer my friend Linda is and I'll let you tell me how beautiful my children are...

Do we have a deal?

Family of Five

Well, we made it. Liam has been in the world now for one week and I think it's safe to say that we like him.

But before I get into all of that, I would first like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your kind comments and well wishes. We are very blessed to have so many friends. James was very proud of himself after that last post because it received the most comments. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that he was announcing the birth of our son. I am just flattered that people thought I wrote it. I think he did a much better job than I usually do. Plus he called me a "hot chick". He's a good one.

The next person I am going to publicly thank is Grandma Bunsies. My sister and I were due the same day, both induced a week early, both attempting VBACs and both ending up with C sections and 8+ pound hunks. Although my mom is super woman, she is not (yet) able to be in two places at once. Lucky for me I have a mom-in-law who was willing and able to come and help me so that my sister could have our mother. Betsy has been cleaning and cooking and taking my girls to the store and buying them shoes and letting me sleep for a week and a half now. I lose her today and I'm sure I will cry. Thanks Grandma. We're going to miss you.

Almost as much as you will miss us I am sure. (in case you can't tell, Grandma also let Eliza do her hair)

And now I will give you a photo essay of our life over the last week and a half.

First I was pregnant and we colored eggs.
(Yes, I was really that big)

Then we took pictures.

Next we put on lipstick.

Finally we had a baby.

And we are currently in love.

Thanks again everyone for everything. Especially those of you who have fed us or taken care of my girls so I could do doctors appointments or just have a break. We are in love with you too.

The world is now one Noonan richer.

I must first credit my good friend Stevy with the title. On Saturday, he sent a text message that said, "I assume the world is now one Noonan richer?" I liked the sound of it.

We had a boy (read: sure to be brilliant state champion wrestler/gentleman who keeps all of the commandments).

I'm always surprised at how readily people will tell me "Well, now you can quit having kids - because you got your boy." Admittedly, I'm pretty excited about having a son. He was, however, not necessarily the reason we decided to have children. We love all of our kids so much, and I'm sure we'll have more before all is said and done - after all, we're only 18 (get it? It's funny because we're actually older than 18).  

That said, here he is, after 39 weeks of gestational anticipation, the current center of attention in our home: 

Liam Richard Noonan. 

Liam was born on Saturday, April 11 at 7:3somethingish. He was 20 inches tall (when he stood up) and weighed 8lbs 8oz, which is approximately Monica's pre-pregnancy weight. Needless to say, he came via cesarean delivery. 

Here he is in his first time hanging out with a hot chick (I'm pretty sure he's blushing here):

This was actually the first time Monica held him (almost 4 hours after he was born). So that photo is actually capturing real-life bliss. I love it.

Eliza and Laney are so excited about their brother... and their new dresses (courtesy of Grandma Bunsies... and all of the time they have been spending with said Bunsies, who is the owner of the arms supporting Liam below.

I don't really have time to post more, but Monica wanted me to get something up here (this is my first time blogging - how'd I do?) But I will share one quick story:

When they took Liam to the nursery, they put a thermometer on him - it's essentially a wire that is held to his chest by a heart-shaped sticker. He immediately reached up and yanked it off. When the nurse said, "Hey mister, put that back on there" and reached for the sticker, Liam peed at her.

That's my boy.

Sleep

Do you want to know why they're so tired?

It's because Laney had her first Night Terror last night.

Not fun.

She began screaming at about 11:30 and didn't stop until after midnight. All we could figure out was "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!" and "Different one!"

You're supposed to just let them freak out until they eventually fall back asleep, but we didn't know that yet so we woke her up (which is not an easy task). Then once she was awake she wanted to have a party so we all drank chocolate milk and watched Elmo. When we were finished, she cuddled James on the couch and told him all about the lion, Swiper the Fox, and a bum (still haven't figured that one out yet) that were all in our livingroom. Because she was talking so much, I decided to record some of it. Because I recorded it, I had to put some of it on my blog. Because it's on my blog, you have to watch it (well, listen to it. It was dark and so you can't actually see anything).




In case you can't understand it all, I will translate the best part. Her prayer.

Me: Do you want to say a prayer?

Laney: Yeah, I bless bum

Me: Okay, you bless bum, say it out loud

Laney: I'll say loud, bum
(and then beginning her prayer)Bless bum, bless lion come, ?, bless my drink, chocolate milk. Amen bum.

It was almost worth the late night just to have her say that prayer. And to get the picture of her sleeping today with a doll in her mouth.

And now I'm going to sleep. Goodnight.

I love sunshine

I got a sunburn the other day...

A sunburn!

Do you know what this means?

Sunshine

Birds

Green

Flowers

Bikes

Parks

Swings

Barbecues

Flip-flops

Swimming

And best of all... babies (well one baby anyway)!

Only three more weeks to go! Wish me luck...

Ballroom

Eliza was born to lead. Zach was born to follow. They are the perfect couple.

(And in case you were wondering, dancing like this can't be forced. Zach and Eliza came up with it all on their own. I just took advantage by playing paparazzi)

Would you like fries with that?

Yes, I'd like a boy with dark hair, dark skin, blue eyes, and straight teeth please. Oh, and could you make him six feet tall (when he's grown up, of course), muscular build and give him a sense of humor? Thank you.

What Are You Doing in That Tree McFly?

Okay, I have a confession to make. I am a stalker. Don't be alarmed though, I don't look through windows, or drive by houses (that ended long ago with my marriage) I look at the blogs of people whose lives I have nothing to do with, but happen to be curious enough about to check every now-and-then.

Tonight it happened like this: A certain person from high school invited me to her blog. I noticed a link to a name that sounded familiar and I clicked on it. Then, one thing led to another and you know the rest. I peeped and you might as well call me Tom.

So here is the question of the day - Am I normal? Does everyone do this? I mean, if you don't make your blog private, aren't you basically inviting weirdos from your past to look through the window of your blog (not that I'm too much of a weirdo, just a slight one. That should really give you comfort)? And, is that reason enough to make your blog private?

Just so you know, I'm personally not too worried about this because most people from my past probably don't remember me or have any interest in what my kids are eating this time, or what has been breeding in my garage. Besides, I for one am glad for those lurking in the shadows because occasionally they reveal themselves and I get to make a new blog friend. See, I'm not weird, just lonely.

Now I will post pictures of my family that have absolutely nothing to do with this post. Why? Because this is my blog and I can do whatever I want to. Not to mention there are some sweet photos on my computer just waiting to be shown to those who know and love me (and those who don't really know me or love me, but are curious enough to look at them anyway) and tomorrow is valentines day (get it sweet, love, I should be a professional writer with all the metaphors and symbolism I am using in this post).

My Asian princesses in their Chinese clothes.
I'm pretty sure Eliza was almost as excited to get these clothes as she was to see her daddy again.

Daddy and his girls when he was finally home from Hong Kong

Happy (late) birthday Nicole. We made you a cake and ate it.

Happy New Year
My baby boy will be an ox, just in case you were wondering.

Laney is wearing one of my old dresses.
She was also eating a whole can of frosting with her fingers.

Pinning the lips on Mrs. Valentine

Yummy

Tonight's family home evening lesson:
"I Am a Child of God"

Tonight's treat:
Popsicles and ice cream (most of us just had one or the other)

Please excuse the mush, I'm feeling lonely

Have I ever told you about the time when Eliza had the problem with flies in her microwave?

Let me fill you in.

Eliza came and got me one day because she had a problem. "I can't get the flies to stop coming out of the microwave," she told me. I had no idea what she was talking about so she offered to show me. We went into her room where she opened up her little play kitchen microwave and sure enough, a few little fruit flies came flying out. I also noticed something inside the microwave and immediately knew that this was not a job for mom, it was a job for dad.

After being summoned, James came in and inspected the fly producing microwave. Again, when the door was opened, several flies flew out. But this time James had a good look at what was causing this little problem. A banana. One that had clearly been making flies for several days. I did what any one else would have (except James of course), I covered my eyes. James was left to do the dirty work. I won't describe the scene to you, but I will remind you of the biology of a fly. First there's the egg, then there's the little nasty baby, then the fly. We had plenty of nasty babies partying in there too (or so I was told).

Well, the banana and its friends were disposed of and the microwave was sanitized, and all was good in the Eliza's world again. We did have a very long talk about the kind of things we put in her microwave, and I tried to traumatize her enough that she wouldn't put any more bananas in secret places (this was actually one of several bananas we had found that week). And I was reminded once again why I love my husband. He does the dirty work.

Which brings me to my point (are you glad?). James is gone and I miss him.

Often when talking to other mothers about kids and the dirty work that comes with them, it is pointed out that mothers are the ones getting thrown up on, they are the ones changing the nasty diapers and wiping the gross noses. Well, in our family that is not the case. James is always the one to get thrown up on (at least 4 times this vacation). He's also the one to clean up the mess. He changes many of the dirty diapers and noses and he never complains. Never.

Now before you pass judgment and think I'm a mean wife because I only miss him because he can't clean up the mess, let me point out that since he's been gone, no one has thrown up (except me, but that's different) and there have been very few yucky things to clean. I miss him because I love him and I love him because he is who he is. I'm just trying to illustrate to you who he is. The best way to do that is by talking about throw up.

So, because we miss him and I'm sure he misses us, I am going to post pictures for him of my children and you can look too. Don't you love posts like this? All gross and lovey and then lots of random pictures that most of you don't really care that much about but will look at anyway because you are addicted to blogs, just like me? Well, here you go.

Laney borrowed her cousin Ryan's snowsuit (yes, Ryan is a boy)

Eliza couldn't resist it either

Painting

My future artists

Laney ready to go look at the "hosee"


Pudding!

Eliza got her pancakes ready all by herself (while I was helping Laney).

In case you can't tell, top left is butter and the other two are sugar.

"See food"! Get it?

And just one more thing. To redeem myself, I just wanted to remind you that I do my fair share of dirty work too, it's just comes in a different shape and size.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

A few months ago when James was planning his schedule for fall semester, he found this law "class" (or so they call it) where he basically goes on a two week vacation to Hong Kong. Because he is now getting a Masters in Chinese as well as his law degree, we thought this would be a good oportunity and heck, if we're going into debt anyway, might as well get a trip to China out of it. The plan was that when we came to Utah for our Christmas break, I would just stay behind with the girls and then he would fly to Illinois and then Hong Kong. That way I would have some help from my parents while he was gone.

Well he's gone now. And although my parents are saints (especially the day James left when I was throwing up all night and they came home to take care of my kids so I could sleep), they are not James. I have heard more than once from both children at 3 in the morning "I want Daddy" and I admit, I was thinking the exact same thing-and not just so that I could go back to bed and he could get Laney "cereal with milk". We miss him. A lot.

But, life must go on. And so I am going to make the most of it by blogging while my mom is watching "Moses" with the girls. I would just give you a summary of what we have been doing while in Utah, but that would include way too many stories about throwing up and pooping (please excuse my french), so instead I will do what I do best. I'll just post some pictures. That way I will be killing two birds with one stone anyway because I told James I would send him some pictures and this is way easier.

Here we go...



This is what Christams morning with 19 people in the house looks like. Pretty cool huh?





Laney with her cousin Ryan

The reason I am looking forward to future Christmas without cousins - Laney did not get that bike and Eliza did not get the doll house. It doesn't matter how cool your own things are when there are other things you want more.

Playing our pool tournament. This was right before I squashed Jim (sorry Jim, it had to be said). I didn't win the whole thing, but I did make it to the finals where my dad barely beat me. I play a mean game of pool.

This one needs no caption.

Eliza polishing off her Christmas orange.

Going outside to feed the horse with Grandpa (can you tell I'm trying not to be in the picture?)

This morning before church. This is the first Sunday both girls have gone to church in Utah because they kept getting sick. Bleh.

I could put many more pictures up because my mom's files download way faster than mine do, but I won't because I think most of you would just get bored and quit reading anyway. And then what would I do? Or maybe you already quit reading. Great, now I'm paranoid.

Also, for some reason the spell-check isn't working so would you be so kind as to not judge me too harshly if there are misspelled words? Thank you and Happy New Year!

Say Cheese

I downloaded some pictures the other day and I was surprised at the random sampler we had stored on our camera. I often wonder "Would I have taken this picture if I didn't have a digital camera?". My guess is that in most cases the answer would be no. But I do have a digital camera and so now you, lucky reader, get to see what my life is really like. Enjoy.

Laney pouring her own cereal (she of course just wants the marshmallows)

Eliza dancing in her fairy costume (purchased for 1.50 the day after Halloween!)

Cracking daddy's back(ish area)

My pious little girl (please note the facial expression. She always makes this face while praying)

Trying to eat daddy's hot dog while he is on his special secret 3 day diet

Decorating our tree (no, I did not eat too much for Thanksgiving)

New jammies that I bought last year for SUPER CHEAP

The girls with uncle Matt (who came for Thanksgiving with my sister ma-cole)

The first picture is of my sister doing her morning exercises. The rest of us are watching the Cosby Show. Isn't my life so interesting? I can't wait to see what I take a picture of next!